Gemeinde Brunow
History of the Villages of Gemeinde Brunow
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written by Karl-Heinz Steinbruch M.A.

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Preface

Part 1 - History of the village Brunow

Part 3 - History of the village Klüß



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Part 2 - History of the village Bauerkuhl

Bauerkuhl was mentioned for the first time in 1448 when Duke Hinrich von Mecklenburg granted Behrend von Rohr numerous villages, among them the German settlement of Bauerkuhl. In contrast to Brunow and Klüß, however, the development of Bauerkuhl took a different path. In 1478 von Winterfeld can already be proven to have rights and land in Bauerkuhl. In that year the brothers Claus Diederich and Achim von Winterfeld leased to Reimar Weisin one and one-half Hufen of Bauerkuhl for 110 gulden. In addition, a Heinrich von Kaphengst held property in Bauerkuhl. In 1489 he leased one half of the Schulzenamt (village mayor's property ) in Bauerkuhl to Joachim von Winterfeld. In but a few decades the Landesherr would the begin buying this place. Next, in 1549 Duke Heinrich von Mecklenburg bought three and one-half Hufen of the bordering fields of Bauerkuhl for 450 gulden. Yet, before the Thirty-year War, the entire village would belong to the Landesherr (the Duke) and he would lease out the properties. Peter Putkammer was one of the first tenants. In 1626 Markus Preen became a new tenant. With the beginning of the lease, however, he did not assume jurisdiction over the subjects of the estate. Rights to hunt for small game were associated with the estate. It was not permitted, however, for the tenant to have hunting dogs or engage hunters from outside. The lease was in the amount of 1,100 gulden per year. When Preen took over the Bauerkuhl estate he had as his disposal: 86 head of cattle, 82 hogs, 36 geese, and 403 sheep. Three years later an official of the district office Neustadt (to which Bauerkuhl had in 1629 been granted by the Kaiser), prepared an inventory on behalf of the Wallentsteins, The official, on one hand, determined that there was a surplus in crops, on the other hand, he found large losses in cattle. The losses had a value of several hundred gulden. Wallenstein - well known for his tight control of the affairs of state - knew no mercy and expelled the tenant from the estate.

In 1632, however, Mecklenburg's Duke Adolf Friedrich returned under protection of Swedish troops. In 1637 he mortgaged Bauerkuhl jointly with Potendorf for 12,000 gulden to Andreas Hundt. The income was estimated to be 1,606 gulden annually; the interest rate was 6% per year.

Immediately after the Thirty-year War Bauerkuhl consisted only of a dairy farm and a sheep farm. On the dairy farm, which was leased by Friedrich Thesandt in 1654, stood the residence, a barn, a stable, and a Backhaus (baking house). A stable for the cattle and a Käsehaus (place for making and aging cheese) were still lacking. Numerous farmers from Brunow, Drefahl, Platschow, Pampin and all inhabitants of Bauerkuhl were liable for compulsory service on these farms. The meadows and fields were, as in other villages, as a consequence of the war, overgrown and had to be cleared again. Only after that could they again be cultivated with rye, barley, oats and peas. The garden was also still in a wild state, with isolated fruit trees. Of the household articles only an old table, two old benches, and old chest without a top, and an old cupboard without doors survived the war. On the manor lived a Hofmeister (estate administrator), a Meier (dairyman responsible for the dairy administration), two Mägden (house maids), a Kuhhirte (cowherd) and a Schweinehirte (swineherd). The inhabitants attended church in Brunow, where the children were also taught by the sexton.

A short distance away from the Bauerkuhl dairy farm stood the sheep farm, which consisted of the house of the shepherd and a sheep pen. The sheep - 600 sheep could be held - belonged to the tenant of the dairy farm and the shepherd.

In 1704 Bauerkuhl would be described as an outlying farm, where only the manager Jürgen Ulrich Moltmann with his Mägden (house maids) and Knechten (farm hands), the Schafmeister (sheep master) Hans Michelsen with his Gesinde (servants), the Kuhhirte (cowherd) Jochim Jüche and the (Schweinehirte) swineherd Johann Clause lived.

In 1819 Bauerkuhl was under the control of the domanialamt (government seat) Grabow. On the tenant farm lived 61 residents, 29 male, 32 female; 29 were 14 years of age or less! The structure of the Bauerkuhl estate differed fundamentally from the farm villages of Brunow and Klüß. Everything was focused on the operations of the estate. In Bauerkuhl lived the tenant of the estate with his family, a Wirtschaftsschreiber (clerk of estate), a Dienstjunge (servant boy), four Dienst mädchen (house maids), six Einlieger (farm laborers), a Schäfer (shepherd), a Kuhhirte (cowherd), and the Holländer (that is like Meier a job title for the person who operates the dairy of the farm) with the farm's personnel.

On the occasion of a new lease of the farms of Bauerkuhl in 1834, an inventory was taken that gives a very good picture of Bauerkuhl at that time: In the center of the estate stood the residence of the tenants with a hall, several rooms, chambers, kitchen, pantry, cellar and a story with a pigeon loft. The half-timbered outside walls of the dwelling consisted of oak, were brick-lined and were joined with lime to burnt stones on the earth. Next to the residence stood a large half-timbered barn on a foundation of fieldstone, a small stable, the coach house, the horse stable with a farmhand room, Molkenkammer (place where milk is processed), chicken house, pig sty and a supply room. The estate also had a livestock barn, a sheep stable, a Holländerhaus (administrator's house), three Tagelöhner cottages, and the Backhaus (baking house). Four wells provided the necessary water. The entire farm yard was surrounded by walls, fences and hedges. In the fruit-tree grove stood 27 apple, 24 pear, 549 plum, 37 cherry and more than 2000 willow trees.

In the middle of the 19th century the position of Tagelöhner would again be defined. Each Tagelöhner was entitled to a dwelling consisting of a parlor, two chambers, kitchen and loft, and a shed for one cow, two pigs and two sheep. He was not allowed to have geese. The Tagelöhner could manage some garden land, some field and some pasture for the cow. In the winter the men received 9 schillings per day, in the summer 10 schillings per day, the women respectively 5 and 6 schillings per day. In addition, the wife of the Tagelöhner, or another representative of him, had to work on the farm 90 days per year without additional pay. The workday started at 6 AM and extended to 8 PM, and in the winter half of the year, from dawn to nightfall. There was a rest break for one and one-quarter hours at midday and one-half hour each in the morning and afternoon.

The tenant of the estate was responsible for providing sufficient drinking water near the village, a place for washing and bleaching and a bake oven, as well as transportation for the necessary trips to the doctor, to the midwife, to the pastor, to the mill and for the procurement of firewood.

Despite these requirements, again and again disputes between the tenant of the estate and Tagelöhner arose. There was an extensive history of non-compliance of the working day, over insufficient work output by the Tagelöhner and over unlawful acquisition of food and firewood. Repeatedly, the Tagelöhner would complain to the Amt (district office) about the conduct of the estate tenant, their late payment (in pay and provisions), poor quality of provisions and poor treatment of the estate's subjects. Because of disobedience against the tenant several Tagelöhner were fined or sentenced to several days of imprisonment. Finally the Tagelöhner would quit. In the meantime the tenant would gain a very bad reputation, so that scarcely anyone was willing to work for him. Farmhands were still being punished in 1874 because of disobedience.

In the course of the creation of territorial structures after the end of the monarchy the tenant farm Bauerkuhl became an independent gemeinde.

In 1939 only 42 inhabitants lived on what was earlier the tenant farm of Bauerkuhl, to which two Häuslereien (cottages) had been added, now being called a Landgut (country estate). As is the case with Brunow, this number had increased in 1946, as a result of the Second World War, to 59 residents. Four years later, Bauerkuhl would lose its independence as a gemeinde: through regulated changes of the kreis and gemeinde borders in 26 June 1956 the Gemeinde Bauerkuhl was combined with Gemeinde Brunow.

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